DoofersDad

HT 0-0 FT 1-1 ICT Polworth Opp Doolan Crowd 2871

Really sorry to hear the news about Aaron. He was a key part of our success when he was fit. His work rate was excellent and he has real vision. When Billy was prolific, it is amazing how many of his goals Aaron played a part in. I really hope he can put these injuries behind him and get fit - we have always been a better side with him in it and it seems to me that Foran's style is well suited to what Doran can bring to a side.

Another thing we need to do is to make sure we stay positive if we concede. This is the way to do it! http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39191151

The thing that struck me from watching the game was the physicality of the Thistle side. Osman was very lucky to remain on the park following his assaults on Hayes. I don't think they have a great deal of pace at the back and therefore if they press too much they will be vulnerable to our pace on the break. They are also a pretty hard working side and don't allow players too much time on the ball. There is no reason why we can't get 3 points out of this but we need to be disciplined at the back and play well across the team. 1st goal will be crucial. On the subject of physicallity, how on earth did Garner not get sent off for his wild kick on Imrie yesterday? He then went on to score 2 more goals. Of course, Foderingham should also have gone for an early bath in the first half after handling out of his area. It is really quite alarming how inept some of the officials in Scottish football are. The need for a video referee for bigger games has never been more obvious. Excellent semi-final draw. It will see the Shinnie brothers in opposition as well as ensuring we don't have an ugly sisters' final.

Who was it that got back in the last minute of the game against The Rangers to block a cross from close in on the byline?

Tremarco goes with out saying. Can't say I've seen enough of McNaugton, Laing and McCart to come to any conclusion for the centre pairing but a fit Josh Meekings would probably get the nod for one of the slots. I think Mckay is a more natural defender than Raven but Raven offers a bit more offensively. Think I'd probably go with Mckay on balance. In the past I had questioned why Shinnie was played at left back when I thought he was more effective in midfield. I also wonder if Raven might be better playing a bit further up the park. He may not have the ball skills of Cole and Mulraney but he tackles and crosses a ball a lot better.

There's still 11 games to go and therefore 33 points up for grabs. Theoretically we could still finish 2nd! Things can turn round very quickly. Dundee may be feeling a bit more comfortable in 7th now, but if we were to win our next 3 games and they were to lose theirs, we would be ahead of them - and there would still be eight games to go! But just as easily, Dundee could win their next 3 and we could lose our and they would be out of sight. What often happens is that when teams feel they are safe from relegation, they take their foot off the pedal a little. Sides are so evenly matched in the bottom half of the division that a little slacking off can make the difference between win or lose. 2 or 3 bad results and suddenly they find themselves being dragged into the mire, the doubt creeps in and that nervousness is reflected in their play and they go on a loosing streak, Those teams at the bottom know they are in a fight. They make that little more effort which gives them the edge over those who thought they were safe, and then they develop a bit of belief as they narrow the gap. T. If we can continue to play with the fight and determination we have been showing in the last 3 games we should pick up enough points to end at least 10th. But other teams about us are also showing some real fight and determination so we can't afford to slacken off at all. 100% effort from the team and 100% support for all the players from the fans is what we need till the end of the season.

Disappointing to lose a goal just before half time and then concede such a soft goal straight from our kick off at the start of the second half. Had we got to the hour mark without conceding we might have got something out of the game. That 2nd goal was a real sickener and full credit to the team for never giving up. We played very well against The Rangers on Friday but never quite matched that today. I don't think that was from any lack of effort, it was just that Celtic are head and shoulders above any other team in the league and put such pressure on the opposition. But having said that, if OFW had played like he did on Friday we would have run Celtic close. I thought Polworth was the one player whose performance was well down on Friday, when I thought he was excellent. How he got the sponsors MOTM beats me! Billy King was was my MOTM, particularly in the first half when he did some top class tackling back. King Billy put in a good shift but was frustrated by poor service from Polworth in particular and by a superb centre back pairing who never put a foot wrong all evening.. Overall, there was enough in that performance to suggest we can turn things round. The big worry is OFW's fitness. Richie may have a big decision to make there. He certainly has a big decision to make relating to Garry Warren. We now have decent options in defence and Warren has made one or two crucial errors and is lacking a bit of pace. Finally, a big well done to Iain Vigurs. Whatever one may think about Vigurs, I simply abhor fans booing their own player when he comes on. When he came on he really played for the shirt. He fought for the ball and then used the ball well when he got it. If he could keep that up for 90 minutes he would be first on the team sheet every week.

Much as I have criticised Hughes in the past we could have done with Hughes tonight. He'd have put Draper in goals.

To be fair, there's been a bit on the Celtic game on the "Let's just do it" thread. Not much today, I grant you, but there's really not a lot more to add before the game. I'm sure there'll be plenty of comment after the game when there is something concrete to comment on, be it good or bad. Whether JH had been manager here or not, his rant yesterday would have been worth a post or two.

Looks like Yogi is doing his best to get Raith relegated from the Championship. He's having a "right good go" at the SPFL for not agreeing to a postponement of last night's game against Ayr due to a lack of keepers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39119114 They've been without a keeper on the bench for the last 3 games and he's done nothing about it. Then suddenly with their one fit keeper getting injured on Saturday (but not needing to leave the field) they seek a postponement the day before the next match. One wonders what they would have done in any of those 3 matches had the keeper had to go off injured? Presumably, by not having a keeper on the bench they accepted they would have to put an outfield player in goal. Having a go at the SPFL rather deflects from the real issue here which is that Raith lost because they failed to score a goal against a side which had not won in their last 15 games.

HT 0-1 FT 1-3 ICT Polworth Opp Sinclair Crowd 6181

These things are so hard to figure out. How did Leicester suddenly produce a performance last night as soon as the manager who brought them all the success last year is out of the door! We never know what is going on behind the scenes, but more often than not a departure of a manager either sees a marked improvement or a further drop off. Things rarely stay the same. My guess is that even with just a caretaker manager in to the end of the season, Motherwell's form will pick up a bit.

I think that must the point in the speech where they put a picture of Nicola Sturgeon up on the big screen!

Our goal difference is one better than Kilmarnock and County and two goals poorer than Hamilton's. Goal difference could be crucial at the end of the season. It's fine being all gung-ho in a one off cup match but we can't afford to lose heavily in the league. We need a bit of realism here. We must accept that we will probably lose the game and the important thing is to not lose by much. Keeping things tight has to be the way to go. But with the pace of Mulraney (assuming he's OK) and Mckay up front, we have players who are capable of hurting Celtic on the break so we always have a chance of taking something from the game.

There seem to be a number of reasons which have helped in producing improved performances. Hopefully we can build on this and maintain the 100% commitment through to the end of the season. But just as we suddenly seem to have found a bit of form, so too can other teams. Hamilton would seem to be favourites for the drop but despite having won only 3 games all season, they rarely lose by more than 1 and it won't take much to convert some of their draws into victories. County are on a really poor run of results but have not been playing too badly. Again, they rarely lose by more than a single goal and I don't think it will take much to improve their fortunes. I really can't see them going down. Motherwell seem to be the joker in the pack here. Going into February they were in the top six but have been absolutely woeful since then. One wonders what has changed there! It's still very much a case of any 2 from 7 going down even if the odds are shortening on the bottom 4. It is very unpredictable and any of the sides in the bottom 7 could suddenly run into form or lose form. The one thing for sure is that if we want to stay up we'll need a good few more performances like Saturday's. Whatever it is that's changed needs to stay changed.

Well done to Richie and the team! We won tonight because we wanted it more. The commitment throughout the team was excellent. It was doubly impressive because we had to readjust very early on with Tremarco going off injured and then later when Mulraney also had to go off. if we can maintain that spirit for the rest of the season, then we should be a good bit clear of the relegation spots come the end of the season. It was a high tempo game and really exciting to watch. It was great to see Tansey playing more forward and scoring an excellent goal. But why did he not take the penalty? It looked to me as though his team mates were expecting him to take it but that he gave the nod to Vigurs. Who is our designated penalty taker? If it is Tansey then it would have been very unfair of him to pass on the responsibility to someone else out of the blue, particularly when his confidence should have been high after the goal. Vigurs had only recently come on in place of Draper, so who was the captain on the park? Tansey? That is something that needs clarifying. But full marks to Vigurs for missing the penalty. It meant there was less time for us to hold out for victory once we finally did get the 2nd goal. And a word about Polworth. After a shaky start, I thought he was excellent. What annoyed me were the numpties in front of me who kept on having a go at him for not pressurising defenders with the ball in the 2nd half. Actually, he pressurised them exceptionally well when they didn't have an easy offload. But when they had support and any easy pass, Polworth rightly held back despite the colourful urging of the numpties. Had he charged forward to put pressure on the defender, the defender would have played a simple pass to his team mate who, in turn, could simply have taken the ball or passed it through the gaping gap that Polworth would have just vacated. Polworth put in a terrific shift today. But for all the positives, my MOTM was OFW.. Without some excellent stops and blocks and a much more assured performance from him, we would have lost today, The Rangers produced some neat interplay in the final third but nothing incisive enough to get past OFW.

ICT I should hope. After all, as far as I know he's never been associated with The Rangers has he? In any case, he'll hopefully be saying nice things about us because of the manner of our victory.

HT 1-0 FT 1-2 ICT Polworth Opp Waghorn Crowd 6792

I see Shaw is now under investigation with the FA because a betting firm apparently offered odds of 8-1 that he would eat a pie on camera during the match! He has admitted that he was aware that some of his mates had taken up the bet. However, he might be cleared because it was a pasty and not a pie he was eating. You couldn't make it up!

The key is maintaining the work rate. In recent interviews Foran has accepted that a problem has been that some players have been lazy in getting back to support the defence. I don't think that is just a criticism of the midfield, it is also a criticism of some of the back 4 who have not always got back as quick as they should on their forays upfield. Regardless of who plays, there has to be 100% effort. We also need to be disciplined as suspensions caused by too many cards could be a problem for us later in the season. Murty was critical of his team yesterday following their defeat to Dundee and my guess is that The Rangers will come to us with a much more focussed and determined attitude. We will do well to get anything out of the game. I like the way 12th Man has described the team with the timings of the substitutes. Billy Mckay has to start and you could start with any two of Cole, Doran, King,or Mulraney, but whoever is picked needs to run The Rangers' midfield and defence ragged in the knowledge that there are able replacements to carry on the work when they tire.

Am I not entitled to express my view without you being offensive in reply? Whether Hughes wanted money for recruitment or for retaining existing players, the fact is he was using the media to pressure the Board for money which he knew the club could not afford. For some reason, you seem to think that is appropriate behaviour from a manager. I accept you did not say anything about money for recruiting. But why didn't you? Are you seriously trying to tell us that Hughes was not looking to recruit new players? If he wasn't looking for money to recruit new players then he should have been! Indeed, I am sure that he was. I may not be Hughes' greatest fan but I will at least credit him with enough savvy to recognise that no club, rich or poor, can exist without bringing in new players on a regular basis. As for retaining existing players, I am not sure what you expect of the club. You must be aware that that when players develop well here they will get offers from richer clubs which are way beyond the means of our club to match. Our best players will always move on to more lucrative deals elsewhere and therefore a key role of the manager is to attract new players to the club who have the potential to develop in the particular environment and ethos of this club. The thing about Hughes though, was that he just wasn't as good at that part of the job than some of his predecessors had been.

What contradictory sentences! If Hughes' success would be the club's success why on earth would the club deliberately try to thwart his ambition? I am sure the Board's ambition is no less that Hughes', it is just that they behaved far more responsibly. Kingsmills is quite right when he says it was wrong of Hughes to try to pressure the Board by going public with his demand for funds beyond which he already knew the club could afford. If the Board had bowed to Hughes' irresponsible media campaign and if Hughes had managed to bring success to himself and the club as a result,then you can be assured that he would have moved on and left the club to deal with the resultant debt. The club's success may have been Hughes' success but the club's overdraft would not have been Hughes' overdraft. Of course, there is also no guarantee that had the Board borrowed money to fund his demands that Hughes would have been able to recruit players to deliver success in any case. Don't forget, that despite being given a bigger budget than his predecessor, he left the club with a significantly weaker squad than he inherited. Hughes' actions had made his position untenable and he simply had to go.

Thanks, Scotty. Seems fine now. I've just accessed a couple of the longer threads and flicked between pages no bother.